Inevitable Distractions
by Crazy Sardines
Summary: Rukawa was all set to becoming the number one basketball player in Japan. However, certain unexpected events cause him to lose all his focus. MitRu, possible SenRu
1. Prologue

Disclaimer: I don't own Slam Dunk or any of its characters although I wish I did.

Prologue

Rukawa's activities can generally be categorized into three things: basketball, sleep, and others.

Ok… actually, just two. Rukawa considers sleeping as his past time. He sleeps almost the entire day, and basically wakes up to play basketball, or if not, do something related to basketball. The other stuff – such as eating and going to class – he just does out of necessity. His thoughts are mostly filled with basketball that he just ignores other stuff not related to it. It occupies 80 percent of his thinking time leaving no room for other things to fill his mind.

But strictly speaking, of course Rukawa also does think of other things besides basketball and sleeping. And to put it simply, these are those that distract him from doing his favorite activities. Like when somebody wakes him up from his sleep, he'll definitely be sure to remind him _physically_ never to do that again. Whoever disturbs him from his peaceful slumber would surely have one hell of a time with him, just so they remember. And this would always be the case unless of course he's being woken up for basketball. Now for those things distracting him from basketball, well there are several different ways he deals with that. But first, let's identify these everyday distractions that he needs to put up with.

To start off, we have his ever loyal Rukawa fan club. Girls screaming his name have been a far too common occurrence for the ice prince that he has already develop a specialized immune system just for this. Occasionally though, there are still those abnormally high-pitched squeals that still get pass his anti-fangirl defenses. For those things, he has learned to ignore them, same as what he does to his ringing alarm clock when he is in deep sleep. Fortunately for him, both of these irritating noises just die down on their own and eventually leave him be – though most of the time, the super fan girl cheers tend to be a bit more persistent than his alarm clock.

Second on his list of distractions would be the annoying self-proclaimed-tensai doaho teammate of his. In the super rookie's point of view, having Hanamichi Sakuragi gone from the team would definitely make his life a whole lot more peaceful. Since this can't be possible (since Rukawa does think, despite everything, that Sakuragi is indeed an integral part of the Shohoku basketball team – a fact he would NEVER admit out loud to anyone), Rukawa attempts to shut the doaho up with his usual side remarks. If this doesn't work, he tries to put an end to his teammate's relentless shouting by showing off a bit of his basketball skills, which would hopefully put the beginner into a right sense of mind and see the extremely large gap between them. This, Rukawa believes, would get the doaho to shut the hell up, just focus on practicing more, and not disturb everyone with his out-of-this-world crazy antics. However, unknowingly, this has the opposite effect to Sakuragi. Contrary to what Rukawa expects to happen, it actually just provokes the 'tensai' to be more riled up and louder than usual.

And finally, we have school work. Well technically, school isn't really a distraction but could be considered more of a hindrance for Rukawa. First, he loses precious basketball practice time because he needs to attend his classes. Second of all, the things taught in class are basically useless to him. It would just be a waste of valuable space in his mind and he could really just do without it. If given a chance that he could play decent basketball without having to go school, he probably would have taken this option. But since Rukawa would not have been able to play his favorite game without entering highschool, he needs to put up with his academics even if he doesn't want to. And so what Rukawa does in order to compensate for this wasted time, he sleeps in class. At least, with this, he is able to enjoy and have more of his much wanted sleeping time rather than listening to a pointless class lecture.

But even though Rukawa thinks of attending school in general as troublesome, he never regretted the fact of choosing to stay at Shohoku, and continuing his basketball training in Japan rather than going to America as he previously planned. Despite his unrelenting nature, Rukawa does respect and value the opinion of his elders which has led him to go against his original plans and follow the goal Anzai sensei had set for him: be the number one basketball player in Japan. The talk he had with Anzai sensei a few weeks ago led him to put off his plans of going to America for a little while and focus first on what he could do to better improve himself as a basketball player while in Japan.

The goal Anzai sensei had in mind for him wasn't bad at all. In fact, when he thought about it, it would probably be a good stepping stone for him. Given this goal in mind, the super rookie is now fired up and ready to take on any strong opponent that he may meet in the Nationals. In order to become the number one player in Japan, Shohoku should first be the number one school in Japan. The path he is set for was never as lucid as it was now. His direction is certain and his mind is clear. However, all of that was about to change when a rather unexpected distraction was about to shake and plague the ice prince's mind.

* * *

Author's Notes:

This is my first fanfiction ever. I'm really not into writing but I just had the urge to write this story. I just recently rewatched the one-on-one episode of Rukawa and Mitsui, which made me write this fic. So this would probably be a MitRu and some SenRu on the side. I dunno yet... hahaha

Please review and comment. It would be much appreciated.


	2. Preparations

Disclaimer: I don't own Slam Dunk or any of its characters, just borrowing them for a bit.

Chapter 1

The inter-high tournament is fast approaching and everyone in the Shohoku basketball team is training their best for the upcoming games. Given that there are only a few weeks left until the tournament begins, their practice sessions have become more rigorous than they usually were. All are anxious and excited seeing it is the first time for the Shohoku basketball team to make it to the Nationals. Every member of the team is so pumped up that even after practice hours are over, some of them still stay behind and continue to play basketball. And one of the more frequent individuals who choose to remain and practice is none other than the super rookie, Rukawa.

These past few weeks, Rukawa has been training harder ever. Not that he wasn't practicing seriously before, but rather, there is something that pushes him to give it his all this time. For him, there's already no holding back. The change in his attitude when he's playing has become so obvious that everyone in the team, and even some of the onlookers during basketball practice, have come to notice it. Everyday, Rukawa does extra training to further increase his plays. He tries to hone his shooting skills by doing an additional hundred mid-range shots a day, to increase the probability of him making the shot even when he is fouled or defended tightly by his opponents. When doing image training, he practices fakes and works on his dribbling techniques to be able to easily get pass tough defenders. Although the effectiveness of such training is not assured since one really doesn't have an actual opponent to play with, for the lone basketball player, it was better than nothing at all. Aside from these, Rukawa also runs laps to increase his stamina in order to avoid passing out during games like what happened to him during their game with Kainan.

But even though Rukawa is dubbed to be the super rookie, he is still a normal human person who does have his own set of limitations. Given all the strenuous training he has been doing, it was not surprising to find the freshman totally asleep in the locker rooms after practice hours one day. Although Rukawa is known to have a penchant for sleeping anywhere whenever he wanted it, he didn't intend for this one. It was just that he was so tired from all the training that he just fell asleep in the middle of changing out of his workout clothes. It was a sight to behold actually. While his shirt was disregarded carelessly on the floor, he was clutching unto his basketball shorts with both hands, poised as if he was about to remove them. His head was slightly tilted forward, supported by the lockers in front of him; his forehead pressed upon the metal doors. He looked as if he was about to fall sideways any moment with just a slight touch on his shoulders. For anybody else, sleeping in that position would have been an impossible feat. But since it is the ultimate sleeping addict we are talking about, it's a different matter all together. It is Rukawa alone who can make sleeping in the said manner seem like the most normal thing in the world to do.

It was a good thing for him that he didn't remain sleeping in that position for too long. Since if he ever did, it probably would have caused a lot of strain to his neck. Plus, he could have been seen by a few of his sneaky teammates (namely Sakuragi, Miyagi and Mitsui) who'd definitely make fun of him. Or worse yet, the trio might even decide to take a picture of it to sell to his hoards of fan girls. Fortunately for him though, none of these ever happened. Because just after half an hour of sleeping in the said manner, his head–which was the only thing keeping him in a standing position–began to slid sideward. This made him fall unceremoniously to the floor, positioning him behind a large container filled with basketballs, which effectively hid his sleeping form from the view of anyone who enters the locker room–unless of course one deliberately looks behind the container.

Since there were only a few people who also did extra training that day, and given that he was well-hidden at the back of the locker room, Rukawa remained asleep until late into the night. His sleep was only disrupted when there was suddenly a loud bang that woke him up. It sounded like something slammed into the lockers. The sleepyhead slowly sat up, forcing his eyes to open up and adjust to the dimly-lit room. Still half asleep, Rukawa decided to take a look into whatever it was that intruded his much needed rest.

From behind the basketball containers, he could hear voices coming from the other end of the locker room. He took a peek at the spot where the voices were coming from and saw two of his basketball senpais, Kogure and Mitsui. Given that both of them were still wearing their basketball uniforms, Rukawa's first thought was that they probably had just finished playing basketball and were about to get their stuff from the lockers. However, from the look of things, it didn't seem to be that way at all. Because the current impression they giving off were not simply that of the ordinary, but rather, more that of two people who just had an intense argument.

Mitsui had both his palms pressed into the lockers, cornering Kogure in between his arms. While Rukawa could see that both were completely silent and unmoving at the moment, it still felt as if something was about to happen. The tense atmosphere between the two was reminiscent of their heated confrontation during the gym incident that occurred months ago. Seeming as if a fight was about to ensue, the freshman decided to reveal himself to the two other occupants of the room in order to possibly stop whatever quarrel they were having.

Rukawa was not the meddling type by nature. However, any injury to his teammates at this point in time would most probably have serious repercussions in the upcoming inter-high games, and would just drag the team down. He wouldn't want this to happen and so, breaking up any imminent exchange of blows between his senpais was, in his perspective, the proper thing to do.

As he was about to stand up, his movement was suddenly halted when he heard the loud voice of Mitsui echoing throughout the room.

"Why?"

The hoarse voice that resounded had a demanding tone to it, yet at the same time it almost sounded as if it was pleading. Mitsui looked straight into Kogure with intense eyes, as if he was trying to devour his enemy with just one look. While on the other hand, Kogure held his strong gaze with much conviction that he didn't even waver for one bit under such scrutinizing eyes. Right before answering, he touched Mitsui gently by the arms, trying to pacify the agitated senior somehow.

"Like I said, this is for the good of the whole basketball team," he calmly stated.

The mention of basketball team caught Rukawa's attention. His curiosity got piqued. He instantly had himself listening in on their conversation. Given what he heard, he decided to first see what this was all about before he does anything that might just eventually lead to more problems for the team. He thought that assessing the situation further would be the best course of action at the moment. While he was deciding on an ideal location where he could hear the discussion clearly, his thoughts were suddenly interrupted by Mitsui's angry reply.

"What?! That's bullshit. How can you say that this would be for the good of the whole team if you are depriving two of its members of their happiness?"

The instant Rukawa heard something concerning two of the members, his interest regarding the on-going discussion just increased tenfold. The words deprivation of happiness had his thoughts running along the lines of… was somebody leaving the team like he also considered a few weeks ago? Or was there a gang of some sort blackmailing the team members? Given that the freshman was only ever interested in basketball, it was kind of predictable that his thoughts could only go so far. As he listened in on the conversation, he wondered at the back of his mind about the identity of the two people Mitsui was referring to.

When the other senior just kept silent, Mitsui resumed his ranting. "I don't get what you're saying at all. Why are you doing this in the first place? Why now? I know it could work out fine as it is. There is really no need to end it. I absolutely have no clue as to where you are going with this bullcrap."

As the super rookie continued eavesdropping, rather than become more enlightened like expected, he apparently just got more confused. What the hell is this _really_ all about? What could work out fine? Are they talking about ending someone's basketball career? The incident was already beginning to take its toll on the poor freshman's mind. Thus to prevent his brain from being overworked because of thinking too much, he decided to stop speculating and just let the matter eventually reveal itself.

At the moment, the only thing Rukawa was certain of is that whatever this thing's all about, it's definitely a serious matter if the two known-to-be-good-buddy seniors are debating about it. Although from the current look of things, it seems to be just a one-sided attack from Mitsui.

"Damn it Kogure. Come on, answer me!"

Mitsui was already at the verge of yelling. Feeling frustrated, he pounded his fists into the locker doors. This earned him a jolt from the unexpectedly silent senior. Kogure was originally the one who instigated to have a talk in the first place, and yet ironically, he wasn't the one doing the talking at all.

Seeming as if the other party still wasn't going to speak up, Mitsui was compelled to break their eye contact. Sighing, he slowly removed his hands from the lockers, freeing Kogure from his hold.

The glasses wearing senior looked sideways, not wanting to look straight at the troubled man in front of him. The confident look he had a while ago was vanishing bit by bit and began turning into a look of uncertainty. Kogure looked as if he deeply regretted having this _talk_ with Mitsui. His thoughts were in disarray after seeing the senior react that way to what he suggested a while ago. Although he did expect a negative reaction from him, he didn't think that it would be to that extent. He truly wanted to explain himself properly and yet the more he thought about where he could start explaining, the more that he just didn't seem to find the right words to say.

After long moments of silence, the intense atmosphere between the two had begun to dissipate a bit. Even though Rukawa was used to silence, this was one of a few times in which it seriously felt suffocating. Although their auras were relatively much more agreeable, the massive tension between the two was still present. It was not coming from anger or frustration any longer, but more from a subtler expression of it—a mix of unease and hopelessness.

Looking slightly dejected with his head bowed down, Mitsui hesitated a bit before he willed himself to utter the following words as if saying it would be the end of him. "…don't you trust me anymore?"

The way Mitsui said those words immediately had the vice-captain looking up at him worriedly. Mitsui appeared as if he just missed a final three-point shot that could have led his team to victory. Looking at Mitsui's current form, no one would have guessed that he once was the legendary middle school basketball captain who possessed such boundless optimism–a man who feared nothing. It's a wonder how a person could have changed so much in just a year or two.

Wanting to bring that man back, Kogure decided right then and there that he was indeed making the right decision. More than for the team, or even for himself, he knew that this would be the best for Mitsui. He strengthened his resolve and did the only thing he could do—no, rather, the thing he _must_ do.

* * *

Author's Notes:

Actually, this ending was originally not the one I intended for the first chapter. But I thought it was becoming too long so I just ended it here.

For those that have asked, this would definitely be a MitRu fic. I apologize if it doesn't seem to be that way at first. It'll probably come around chapter 3. If I ever include SenRu, it'll be much later in the fic.

Sorry for any grammatical or writing errors. I'm not really a writer by nature so I do take a long time in writing. Please review. Suggestions and comments would definitely keep me motivated with this fic.

Thanks to those to reviewed, even if it was just the prologue. :D


End file.
